By Juan Perez Jr.

Presented by Sallie Mae®

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is making it known he wants another term if President Joe Biden wins in 2024. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

FOUR MORE YEARS? — American schools are facing a moment of unique opportunity and peril. That all sounds like a good challenge to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who is making it known he wants another term if President Joe Biden wins in 2024.

— “I love what I'm doing,” Cardona told your host earlier this month. 

— “I'm not taking for granted the opportunity that I have to serve as Secretary of Education and I'm enjoying it,” he added. “And as long as the president wants me to serve in this capacity — I’m going to serve.”

— The country is emerging from a pandemic, though disparities in education are as persistent as ever. New federal subsidies stand to remake the U.S. manufacturing economy, but schools need new approaches to prepare tomorrow’s workforce. Conservative-led states are carving out a separate philosophy for public education, leaving moderate and liberal enclaves to chart a distinct path.

— When asked how he can serve as secretary of a divided country, Cardona replied: “All the more reason you need an educator at the helm, not a donor.”

— “I'm not a politician,” he said. “I'm not here because I made a huge donation. I'm here because I have a doctorate in education. I've chosen a life of service in education.”

— “That's why it's really important to be leading this department when you see the country becoming more divided, when you see some folks attacking education and making that their platform,” he argued. “You need someone who's focused on kids, who's focused on students and providing better opportunities.”

IT’S MONDAY, SEPT. 25. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. For years, groups at the vanguard of the anti-vaccine movement had been operating with relatively small budgets and only a handful of staff. Now, they're awash in cash: The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a remarkable financial windfall for anti-vaccine nonprofits.

Reach out with tips to today’s host at [email protected] and also my colleagues Michael Stratford ([email protected]), Bianca Quilantan ([email protected]) and Mackenzie Wilkes ([email protected]). And don’t forget to follow us on whatever it is people call Twitter now: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

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BUDGET BLUES — We’re awaiting the Education Department’s updated plans for a potential government shutdown, as federal cash is set to expire this week unless a congressional Hail Mary staves off a funding lapse.

— A shutdown’s true implications will be determined by whether the funding lapse lasts a few days or stretches into Halloween. There will be widespread ramifications, though, including for education programs across the country.

— Head Start programs for 3- and 4-year-olds would pause quickly. Some education groups are also concerned about a hiatus in the Impact Aid program, which funds the roughly 1,200 school districts on Native American reservations, military bases or places where the federal government owns land. Most Education Department grantmaking, civil rights investigations, guidance, technical assistance, and regulatory actions would also pause.

— For an added sense of what a shutdown will (and won’t) affect, we can also consult the department’s 2021 contingency plan.

— Programs using mandatory or advance appropriations, or perhaps unobligated money known as “carryover” funds would continue to operate through a government shutdown. Programs with mandatory funding include Pell Grants and federal direct student loans.

— Just as department officials expressed in 2021, a prolonged shutdown would cut off cash flow to school districts, colleges and universities, vocational rehabilitation agencies, and other entities. Roughly 1 in 10 school districts received more than 15 percent of their funds from federally-funded programs, the department estimated in 2021.

FIRST LOOK — A bipartisan pair of senators will press the world’s biggest social media firms this week for answers on how schools can easily get verified status and address fraudulent accounts on platforms.

— Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are sending letters to the CEOs of Meta, X (formerly known as Twitter), Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube on Tuesday that request details on how school systems verify their official accounts — and the process each firm uses for schools and districts that wish to report online harassment and bullying.

 — “It is clear that your platforms could do more to facilitate these processes for schools and districts and establishing dedicated account verification and reporting practices would be a good initial step towards addressing these issues,” the senators’ letter says.

— Blackburn and Blumenthal cite research from the National School Public Relations Association and the Consortium for School Networking that found an array of schools have had social media verification applications rejected while they deal with accounts that impersonate schools or platforms that do not quickly remove reported accounts and posts that harass, intimidate or bully students.

— The senators say roadblocks include platforms’ use of automated approval and rejection processes, minimum follower requirements, and verify-by-phone processes that don’t account for phone number extensions. Schools and districts also report having little recourse for reporting a fraudulent social media account outside of mechanisms available to the general public.

— They’re asking the social media giants to consider implementing dedicated processes for schools and districts to verify their official outlets and report fraudulent accounts.

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MONEY PROBLEMS — The Education Department is outlining procedures schools will use to extend spending deadlines for nearly $130 billion in federal pandemic aid. But some key technical details are now entangled in a dispute with a superintendents’ group.

— State and local education officials have long been awaiting department plans for American Rescue Plan extensions. The money can pay for a wide array of expenses, yet schools must earmark their spending by September 2024 and liquidate the money by January 2025 without a federal reprieve.

— Last week, the Education Department announced it will release information sometime this fall that state governments can use to apply for a so-called “liquidation extension.”

— There’s at least one major problem with the plan, according to AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The advocacy group is saying procedures for other federal relief essentially require states to track every financial transaction that would be covered by an extension request. Repeating that process for potentially thousands more transactions will create an “unmanageable” situation that puts “a tremendous burden” on state and local education authorities, they added.

— The Education Department is pushing back against AASA’s characterization. “Throughout the process of administering liquidation extensions, the Department has requested summary level dollar amounts for grantees’ requests,” a department spokesperson told Weekly Education.

— “That policy has not changed with the Department’s recent announcement regarding ARP liquidation extension procedures,” the agency said in a statement. “The Department’s process for late liquidation aims to reduce burdens on grantees and subgrantees to the greatest extent possible while balancing the need for adequate fiscal oversight and ensuring funds are used to support students’ academic recovery, mental health, and other pressing needs.”

— In response, AASA said it is looking forward to seeing more detailed documentation from the department.

— “AASA’s concerns about the current process are informed by the feedback of superintendents who report that their compliance with the current template requires them to submit transactional-level information,” organization advocacy director Sasha Pudelski told your host in a statement.

— “If [the department] does not intend to require transactional information, which is what the field is gathering from this announcement and prior liquidation templates, it needs to correct that misimpression,” Pudelski said.

— Schools will confront an uncertain and turbulent fiscal future once the money dries up.

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NEWSOM VETOES — California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a series of bills late Friday that are sure to anger his progressive allies — including an unexpected rejection of a bill requiring judges to consider children’s gender identities in custody disputes.

— Assembly Bill 957, was authored by Lori Wilson, who is herself the parent of a transgender child, POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte report.

— In his veto message, Newsom largely sidestepped underlying political implications by warning against allowing the government “to dictate — in prescriptive terms that single out one characteristic — legal standards” for judges to apply. He noted courts could already consider parents’ handling of gender identity.

— Trans youth issues this year have sparked protests in school boards across the state, as conservative groups push for mandatory parental notification policies.

DON’T MISS POLITICO’S TECH & AI SUMMIT: America’s ability to lead and champion emerging innovations in technology like generative AI will shape our industries, manufacturing base and future economy. Do we have the right policies in place to secure that future? How will the U.S. retain its status as the global tech leader? Join POLITICO on Sept. 27 for our Tech & AI Summit to hear what the public and private sectors need to do to sharpen our competitive edge amidst rising global competitors and rapidly evolving disruptive technologies. REGISTER HERE.

— Rutgers University senate votes no confidence in the school’s president after faculty strike and controversial changes: The Philadelphia Inquirer

— Deadly disasters are ravaging school communities in growing numbers. Is there hope ahead? USA Today

— Parents who want Youngkin’s transgender policies enacted sue the Virginia Beach school board: The Associated Press

— DeSantis drops campuses from voucher programs because of alleged China ties: Orlando Sentinel

A message from Sallie Mae®:

The majority of students view higher education as a key to obtaining better opportunities in the future, but most families don’t have a plan to pay for it. Our current federal higher education financing system is complicated and confusing, leaving too many families overwhelmed. Sallie Mae provides free tools and resources so families can confidently navigate planning and paying for college. Test your knowledge about higher education financing today.

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